FOR a relatively small sale, the Tattersalls Ireland Winter Flat and National Hunt Sale - formerly the Tattersalls Ireland February NH Sale - has produced an impressive number of top-class horses, including Black Hercules, Cue Card, Flemenstar, Road To Riches and Willoughby Court.
The sale’s most recent Grade 1 winner was Champ Kiely, bought by Michael Murray for just €5,800 from Ennel Bloodstock. It wasn’t the lowest price of the 2025 headliners - Grade 2 winner Siog Geal cost €3,200 and was later resold for £80,000, while €4,000 buy An Peann Dearg landed a listed handicap chase at last year’s Dublin Racing Festival.
If you stretched to €17,000, you had a chance of nabbing Western Fold, who recouped €82,000 as a store, and has repaid that investment with a Galway Plate victory, Grade 2 win and listed success.
The Westerner gelding lines up in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase on Sunday, while over at Musselburgh, Sandy Thomson’s Grade 2-winning hurdler Dedicated Hero, who cost €9,500 in 2020, has a leading chance in a £30,000 chase.
The Tattersalls Ireland team will be hoping they can further advertise the sale this weekend, along with graduates of their other sales, and in the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle today, they have further reason to cheer on Kazansky.
The Gordon Elliott-trained bay is high in the betting for the Grade 1, with fellow Derby Sale graduate Doctor Steinberg the favourite, but Kazansky’s Grade 2 win on heavy ground on St Stephen’s Day bodes well given the biblical rain that has fallen.
Potential updates
Now two from three over hurdles, he is already a notable presence on the page of Lot 72. Consigned by Monroe Stables, his half-brother by Santiago also counts Grade 3 hurdler Knockanard Lady amongst his siblings, while his dam is a full-sister to Irish Grand National hero Thunder And Roses.
Stablemate Skylight Hustle was not declared for Saturday’s Grade 1, but his top-flight success at the venue at Christmas came in time to make the page of Lot 86. Clonmult Farm consign an Order Of St George colt out of the novice hurdler’s blacktype half-sister Sean Says.
Some of next week’s offerings already boast updates, with one of the most noteworthy being Lot 23, a Crystal Ocean half-brother to How’s Hannah, who bolted up by 13 lengths in a mares’ bumper at Punchestown for Willie Mullins.
Dan Skelton’s recent bumper winner Eastern Fire (Poet’s Word) was himself bought by end users at this sale as a yearling and, next week, Tornanstown Lodge offer his full-brother as Lot 63.
Itsinthename was beaten just a head on rules debut for Nigel Twiston-Davies - his half-brother by Order Of St George features as Lot 79.
National Hunt yearlings make up the vast majority of next week’s 158-lot catalogue. Both broodmares have been withdrawn, but six two-year-olds remain at the time of writing.
Selling gets underway at 11am on Tuesday, February 3rd.
Lot 15: Native Trail colt out of a blacktype Camelot mare, from the family of Grand Lodge
Lot 19: Poet’s Word colt out of a blacktype hurdler
Lot 24: Order Of St George filly out of a full-sister to Grade 1-winning hurdler Laurina
Lot 27: Blue Bresil filly out of a listed-winning mare
Lot 29: Crystal Ocean filly is a half-sister to multiple graded winner Chris’s Dream and dual Iroquois Hurdle victor Scorpiancer
Lot 33: Order Of St George filly out of a full-sister to Grade 2 winner Constantine Bay
Lot 36: Walk In The Park colt is a half-brother to the dam of blacktype mare Maximillian Lady, entered in Sunday’s Grade 2 mares’ bumper at Leopardstown
Lot 43: Workforce half-brother to a blacktype hurdler, out of a half-sister to Grade 1 performers Muirhead and Thomas Darby
Lot 45: Crystal Ocean colt out of a full-sister to dual Grade 2 winner Kilcooley
Lot 47: Crystal Ocean colt out of a blacktype mare from the family of Goshen and Talk The Talk
Lot 51: Hurricane Lane half-sister to Grade 1 winner Coney Island and graded hurdler Barra Rua
Lot 54: Order Of St George filly is a granddaughter of Grade 1 mare Pomme Tiepy
Lot 62: Jeu St Eloi filly out of a full-sister to Grade 1 hurdler Pop Art Du Berlais
Lot 63: Poet’s Word half-brother to Grade 2 winner Darling Daughter, out of a dual Grade 3 winner
Lot 68: Wings Of Eagles colt out of Grade 3 winner Queens Wild
Lot 72: Santiago half-brother to this season’s Grade 2-winning novice hurdler Kazansky, out of a full-sister to Irish Grand National victor Thunder And Roses
Lot 83: Poet’s Word colt out of a listed-winning Kalanisi mare
Lot 84: Well Chosen filly out of a full-sister to top-class chaser Conflated. Now two-year-old full-brother fetched €48,000 as a foal
Lot 86: Order Of St George colt out of a blacktype half-sister to recent Grade 1 winner Skylight Hustle
Lot 89: Affinisea half-brother to Diamond Hunter, who is now two from two over hurdles after winning a Grade 2
Lot 110: Blue Bresil colt out of a full-sister to Meyrick Chase winner Good Boy Bobby
Lot 130: Blue Bresil filly out of a listed-winning Kayf Tara mare
Lot 131: Jukebox Jury half-sister to Grade 1 chaser Kiltealy Briggs, out of a full-sister to Grand National hero Ballabriggs
Lot 138: Jeu St Eloi filly out of a Grade 2-placed half-sister to In Compliance and One Cool Cookie
Lot 139: Walk In The Park filly out of a listed winner. Full-sister fetched €68,000 as a foal
Lot 144: Poet’s Word colt out of a Grade 3-placed hurdler
Lot 149: Blue Bresil half-brother to Grade 2 winner Fortune De Mer, out of a Grade 3-placed mare
NEXT week’s catalogue features eight yearlings by Knockhouse Stud sire Tirwanako, who has made a promising start with his first Irish-bred crop, who turned five on New Year’s Day.
Tirwanako’s race record and pedigree isn’t headline material, and yet he has overcome his lack of commercial appeal to sire talented performers from small numbers.
His 2015 crop of just 10 foals featured Grade 1 chaser Gabynako and Grade 2-winning hurdler Adrimel, while last season’s dual Grade 1 winner Jasmin De Vaux hails from a crop of just 21 foals.
That was the largest of Tirwanako’s crops at that stage, until a move to Knockhouse Stud yielded 44 foals in 2021.
Now five-year-olds, four have won under rules so far, including the unbeaten Ballyfad.
Bought by Gordon Elliott for €175,000 after winning for Luke Murphy, he went on to win both bumpers for Gigginstown and returned at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival to make an impressive start over hurdles and faces a new test this weekend. Elliott combined with Aidan ‘Mouse O’Ryan’ to secure another Tirwanako five-year-old at last week’s Tattersalls Cheltenham January Sale, giving £80,000 for Colin Motherway’s promising runner-up Brother Walfrid.
Seeyasunday, who had finished third on debut at Dromahane for Sean Osborne, sold to Dan Astbury / Stockton Hall for £90,000 that same evening.
Point-to-point handlers were among those buying Tirwanako’s three-year-olds in 2025, where his stores sold for up to €75,000 and €65,000, averaging at €32,208. Buyers included Coolmeen Farms, Gerry Hogan, Highflyer Bloodstock, Monbeg Stables, Sam Curling, Terence O’Brien and Tom Lacey.
Tirwanako has had 18 starters under rules so far this season and, incredibly, that’s the most he’s ever had.
More importantly, two of those are blacktype horses and, with the future looking bright, now may be a wise time to invest in his stock.